Great pictures. I'm getting tired of winter, and surfing nice pics like yours helps.
Do you leave any cannas in the ground?

Thanks Tropicallvr. Unfortunately, I dig them all in the Fall since we can get temperatures as low as -45 F. temperatures where I live.

Here are some canna indica blooms i found last week while throwing out the trash. These bloom year round for me, but sparingly throughout the winter. You can see a bit of frost damage on the lower leaves, but they have grown out of it already.

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Central cali, great pictures! I have not seen this particular variety before. I wish I had your climate. It snowed this morning where I live. It will be a long time before I see any canna blooms.

Ok Arctictropical I'm going to have to have a start of all your cannas. LOL I really want one of those orange and yellow ones and the pink one that is in the bed with the elephant ears. They are all beautiful and I do appreciate you sharing your photos with us. Your place is breathtaking. Maybe I'll just move in with you and enjoy all your hard work.

It is so hard to imagine someone having to dig them up every year and replant them all. You really are an inspiration to others. I can only hope that I have my place even 1/2 as beautiful as yours. I can't wait to get some pink cannas that bloom so full like yours.

Thanks again for the photos and keep them coming. My cannas are about 1ft tall now. Everything is starting to pop around here and I'm just thrilled with knowing we will be having lots of color in the yard very soon.

Josh, I'll mail you your Cleopatra and Tropicanna Gold Monday. I don't think I have the canna in your photo either.

Awesome Arctictropical, show me more. (big grin)

Happy Gardening everyone,
Marian

Artictropical, may I ask what type of canna are to the right side of the bench? The big red ones.

Thanks for posting those pictures.

Delightlful!

Marian, actually, i do belive some of that red and yellow canna indica was included in the box of rhizomes i sent you. there are plenty of others that i sent you too, but im pretty sure i got a couple of these in there as well.

josh

Thanks Nightrider. Believe it or not, the red ones are the well known "President". Very common, but they never fail to give you great flowers. Marian, come on up to Utah! You're welcome any time. I will send you a good variety of rhizomes on Monday and label them so you know what they are.

Yipee, I can't wait to get some of your beautiful babies started here in East Texas. I want to do a bed just like the one you have the banana cannas behind. All of your photos are lovely.

I wish you and Josh would post some more pictures. I don't know how to are I'd post some of mine. Several people have attempted to teach me how but I'm too old to remember all the things so I just enjoy looking and drooling over everyone else's cannas and flowerbeds.

I'm going to send you an email also. Thanks for posting and keeping us all excited about Spring and lots of blooms.

Happy Gardening Marian

Here are some more pics of the palnts i grow.

Majesty palm (It had just finished raining)
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Canna Indica
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Seed grown - orange
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seed grown- pink with dark leaves
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seed grown - ruffled peach
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And for those who like small details, some succulents growing among rocks and large amaryllis bulbs (the amaryllis bloom in late April, so i will post pics of those later on)

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You can see more pics of the plants i grow by clicking on the link below. I have yet to add more pics, but it is relatively updated. Feel free to take a look.

Here is a link that might be useful: click here to see more pics of the plants i grow

Lovely photos Josh, now I'm going to be wanting one of those ruffled peach. Gosh and to think a few years ago I'd only seen about 5 or 6 different kind of cannas. This too is becoming an addiction. LOL

I'm fairly sure that a true gardener is always on the prowl for something else to add to the never ending gardening projects. Don't you just love it. YA'LL S cannas are all beautiful.

Keep the photos coming and keep this site popping. Spring has sprung here in East Texas.

Happy Gardening, Marian

Oh my, I want some peach ones. A friend just gave me 10 cannas and I have to go pick them up. Hopefully, we have a peach one in there.

Deanna

Here is a link that might be useful: Deanna

Just beautifully done. Love the swing and the garden design to go with it. I am curious about your planting beds. How large are they and how many canna do you plant per bed and how far apart?

Also, it looks like you underplanted a tree, using a square bed? Also stunning. Your pictures are what prompted me to order Canna this year as I had no idea they looked so lush planted in large numbers and similarly, I had never seen a landscape or garden design using primarily Canna. So thank you for posting those pictures.

arctictropical~You have inspired me to give cannas and elephant ears another try! :)

Do you start them indoors or just replant the tubers when the soil is warm? If you dust the tubers before storage, what do you use? If you fertilize them when planting, what do you use and how often do you apply it during the growing season?

I too wonder about the number and spacing in each bed. What time of year were these photos taken? My cannas never got that tall.

I live near Chicago, the summers are short, and this year our spring has been particularly cold. Would I have have better luck sinking my plants in a tub of water?

Thanks.

I start mine indoors in early April / late March. I put them into large pots, with decent potting soil; then place them under lights. As soon as the weather is decent, I move the pots outdoors on warm days, and bring them in for cold nights. Works well for me.

When dusting them for winter storage, I merely use a bulb dusting powder,- a fungicide which prevents mold from developing.

I do NOT fertilize when planting. I wait until the plant is established and then fertilize. It may be a month after planting in the ground. Then I apply it every couple of weeks. Works well for me.

I plant mine a little closer than ideal because I have limited space, and like the mass look. Thus mine are about a foot apart. Mine get about 4 feet tall.

I would not sink the tubers in a tub of water, but rather start them in a moist potting soil. They can however take water once established. It is the starting of the plant that I am concerned about. I wouldn't want the first roots to rot.

Whatever you do, do not sink them in water, as they will rot! I started mine indoors in March, and as you can see below, they have grown a fair bit.

I have also introduced them to the outdoors since, and sometimes they stay on the front porch overnight, even on cold nights and it hasn't hurt them at all

Before

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Now

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My castor bean plants

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Prairiegirl, it has been a late Spring here as well. The leaves on the trees are just barely starting to come out. I never start anything indoors. I don't have the space since my house is full of tropical plants. In fact, I just started planting some of the cannas last Saturday and will continue planting for the next couple of weeks. Since I grow so many, I don't bother dusting them. I simply dig them and put them in plastic garbage bags and then in boxes. I do add a little peat moss to absorb the moisture from the decomposing roots. For fertilizer I typically use an all purpose garden fertilizer and/or dried steer manure. We have very short summers, and get a killing frost in late September or the first week in October at best. The pictures were probably taken in late August or the first part of September. Raised beds help them to flower earlier because of the extra heat to the soil. Lots of water and organic material in the soil seems to help. Give them full sun. I would not sink them in water either. Good luck!

Your pictures are beautiful (all of them). Thank you. You have inspired me to try to grow more cannas. I love the tropical look--don't ask me why living in Seattle :)
Could you please tell me the name of the pink cannas (second picture from the top). I saw that some are grown from seed. Is that difficult to get? Where do you buy seeds? I have never ever thought about doing that--but it sounds exciting.
I had some Cleopatra (last year) but I found it had dried up in the garage. I guess I have more reading to do on overwintering it. I was devastated.
Thanks so much for the pictures again.

Hi flora2. Thanks for your comments.

The cannas in the second picture are "Red Hots". I don't grow any cannas from seed, but it looks like Josh (central cali369) is the one who grew the ones from seed. Cannas do best by storing them at about 50-55 degree temperatures, in plastic bags so that they do not loose their moisture. I simply dig them in the fall and put them in black plastic garbage bags, and add a little peat moss to soak up moisture from their roots so that they aren't too wet and end up molding. I then put them in wax covered boxes you can get at the grocery stores that they use to ship produce in. There's a variety of ways to store them, but if they are too cold or too dry, they either rot or dry up.

Hi Kevin,
I went to Valley Nursery last weekend and did get some of the "Tropic Rose" and "Tropic Yellow", they only had those two varieties plus "Tropic Red". Are those the only ones you sold to them? I have been having a real hard time finding any cannas at the nurseries this year. Even J & J Nursery who usually has a ton of them has very few to choose from this year and they all seem to be the smaller ones. I specifically have been looking for Tropicanna, Wyoming, or City of Portland. How many varieties did you sell to Valley Nursery? Maybe they just don't have them out yet, I don't really know. That Red Hot one looks really cute! My friend and I have pretty much checked every nursery around here and can't find anything.
Thanks,
Linda

Hi Linda! They must have sold out of everything else. I sold them about 800 canna rhizomes, and there were about 10-15 different varieties. I wish I would have known you were looking for Wyoming or City of Portland. I would have given you some! I'm still planting mine, and have already planted my Tropicana, but have not planted Wyoming nor Portland. Do you want me to hold some out for you? It sounds like cannas are becoming more popular.

Hi Kevin,
It would be really nice if you would save a few cannas for me, I don't need a whole lot, just a couple of each one. I can have my daughter come and pick them up if that is ok, she just got a job up in Logan, so she moved up there before the wedding, she is staying with the Cartee's so it would be easy for her to come get them. When would be a good time? I really didn't think it would be so hard to find cannas this year. I have heard there is some canna virus, maybe that is why no one has them. I did stop at Willard Bay Gardens today and they have a couple of different ones but not the ones I am looking for.
Thanks again! You are so nice!!!!
Linda

Thanks all for the advice and encouragement. Is Red Hots the one pictured on the main Canna Forum page? I've got my eye on that one, Tropicanna and Bengal, which I tried one year and murdered. I have a Bengal cat.

Hi Linda. Your daughter can can most likely find me at home sometime this Saturday. Just have her call me Saturday morning to make sure that I will be here when she stops by. I uncovered all of the palms and they are doing great. The 8' windmill palm is putting out about 10 flower spikes this year for the first time, so it will be interesting seeing it flower this year. With our cold Spring, the cannas I have planted in the ground so far are justing sitting there waiting for some warmth!

Hi prariegirlz5. Based on another post, the canna picture on the main page of the canna forum is "Pink Perfection". I don't have this particular variety but I do have several other pink varieties that are great:

Maudie Malcolm
Pinkever
Los Angeles
Portland
China Doll

Pink Perfection is very similar to "China Doll".

Hi Kevin, I will have either Ashley or Matt come get them on Saturday, they will call first to make sure you are there. Sounds like we are gonna have some really nice weather this weekend, so I will be planting everything, I usually have it done by the end of April, but not this year.

I didn't know that palms flower, what do the flowers look like? You should post a picture once it flowers.

Speaking of pink cannas, I bought one from Willard Bay Gardens called "Pink Sunburst", it has varigated leaves that look pretty cool. Can't wait to see that one bloom!

Thanks again!
Linda

Thanks Linda! The palm trees put out about ten flower spikes with small inconspicuous flowers that aren't really "flower" looking, but put out a slight fragrance to attract the bees. The flower spikes, however, are very noticeable. After they are pollinated, they produce hundreds of palm nuts, or seeds. Yes, it sounds like a great weekend! I will hopefully finish planting the cannas as well as some garden. I will keep my cell phone handy for Ashley or Matt to call. Happy growing!

Kevin

Hi Kevin,
Please post more pictures. We are all dying to see more of your beautiful cannas. Please know that the ones you shared with me are up and growing. They are still alot smaller than the ones I have from last year but what can I expect? I'm sure they are going through the climate change here in TEXAS. LOL I just know they are going to be BEAUTIFUL when they get a little bigger.

I planted the banana cannas at the back and I think it's Maudie Malcom in front of them. I also planted several different elephant ears with them. Last fall a friend shared two small purple leaved Elephant Ears that get HUGE. They are tucked into that flowerbed also. If everything goes well it should be a STUNNING sight in a couple of months.

The money for postage will most likely be going out Monday and if everything else goes according to plan some of the other cannas I have will be on their way to you also. I just have one problem and that is I don't know which cannas are what in the group that you want because they all have green leaves. I might remind you we don't have to dig them here in Texas so I just leave them in the ground and don't worry about the names. LOL It maybe a crap shot to get all the different ones but I'll try.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. You really have encouraged all the rest of us to get more active in our canna and tropical beds.

I personally wouldn't be without cannas. I love their foilage more so than their blooms. Thanks again!
Happy Gardening, Marian

Hi Marian! Good to hear from you. You are the one that needs to take pictures and send to us! I am still planting cannas. It has been such a late, cool Spring. The apples trees aren't even in bloom yet. They are about two weeks behind their normal flowering. So needless to say, the cannas have not started growing yet. No pictures of cannas until August. Maybe I will take some pictures of the yard when the flowering crabs are in bloom. I have about 12 of them. Please, don't worry about the postage money! Like I said before, a few cannas from your garden will be payment enough! I have so many different varieties of cannas now I have a tough time finding a place for them. I wish we had your southern weather so that I would not have to dig them all! Oh well. I guess there is a trade off. We have comfortable weather in the Summer up here in the frozen north country. Happy gardening!

Kevin

Hi Kevin, As it turns out I will be up there Saturday around 5pm, I can stop by then if thats ok with you. I guess if you are not going to be around then you could just leave them on your porch. Does this sound ok with you? I will call before I come over.
Thanks
Linda